The present invention relates to a theft monitoring device for preventing shoplifting of merchandise and commodities, and an alarm tag releasing device which is used for the theft monitoring device, detaches an alarm tag attached to a commodity from the merchandise or commodity, and cancels a function of monitoring a monitored device.
A theft monitoring device is provided for monitoring commodities so as not to be illegally removed or stolen from a particular establishment. The theft monitoring device is constructed, for example, in such a manner that a monitoring device body (gate unit) having a transmitter is installed at the doorway of a shop and a monitored device (buzzer tag) is attached to a commodity to be monitored.
The buzzer tag has a receiving antenna for receiving radio waves from the transmitter of the gate unit, a receiver, an alarm device, and related components.
The gate unit monitors around the doorway as a monitoring region by transmitting radio waves from the transmitter at a predetermined frequency (for example, 32 kHz).
When a commodity with the buzzer tag is carried through the gate unit, the buzzer tag receives the radio waves from the gate unit and sounds an alarm from the alarm device.
When the buzzer tag is further provided with a transmitter and a transmitting antenna and the gate unit is provided with a receiver and a receiving antenna, so that if the commodity is carried through the gate unit, both of the buzzer tag and the gate unit sound alarms, thereby enhancing the theft preventing effect.
The buzzer tag is detached from the commodity by using a specific releasing device at a register when payment for the commodity is made.
However, since the buzzer tag can sound an alarm by being driven by a built-in battery, the alarm may not sound if the battery condition is deteriorated; as a result, the crime preventing effect deteriorates.
Although the buzzer tag itself consumes a very small amount of electricity, since the battery is used over long periods of time, it is necessary to change the battery every predetermined period. However, when it is constructed so that the state of the battery voltage can easily be detected by seeing the buzzer tag itself, the crime preventing effect cannot be obtained. Buzzer tags with low battery voltage indications would become targets for theft.
Due to this, the battery voltage of a conventional buzzer tag cannot be easily confirmed even by a person in charge of the theft monitoring device (manager of the register or the like).
Especially, when there are a plurality of such buzzer tags attached to respective commodities, it cannot be discriminated which buzzer tag has a consumed battery in appearance, so that the battery is not often changed even though it may be necessary.
As mentioned above, although the person in charge has to check the battery voltage of the buzzer tag, there is no means by which the time of the battery change can be easily known. Consequently, solving means by which the battery change time can be properly confirmed is strongly desired.
The buzzer tag has to be constructed so as not to be usually easily detached from a commodity, but is also requested to be easily detached from the commodity only by the person in charge. It is desirable that, for example, a work of detaching the buzzer tag from the commodity at the register upon payment for the commodity is performed as easily as possible.
In order to solve the problems, it is an object of the invention to provide an alarm tag releasing device by which the battery voltage of the buzzer tag can be easily confirmed at a proper time, thereby preventing battery exhaustion. The device can easily detach the buzzer tag from the commodity only by the person in charge, and can facilitate the detaching operation and maintenance of the buzzer tag which are necessary for operating a theft monitoring device using the buzzer tag.